£100m John Lewis and Google Cloud partnership accelerates tech transformation
The John Lewis Partnership, the UK’s largest employee-owned firm, has fashioned a strategic partnership with Google Cloud, price £100m over the subsequent 5 years. The transfer represents a significant enlargement of the profitable relationship it has had with Google since 2012.
This collaboration marks a big step ahead within the John Lewis Partnership’s digital transformation of its manufacturers, John Lewis and Waitrose, and its ambitions to offer clients with much more tailor-made and personalised experiences.
Below the expanded settlement, extra of the organisation’s expertise will migrate to Google Cloud, harnessing the cloud supplier’s newest and most progressive applied sciences, together with superior synthetic intelligence (AI) and machine studying (ML). These instruments will allow the John Lewis Partnership workforce, often known as Companions, to be extra environment friendly, spend extra time specializing in clients, and higher use knowledge insights to assist curate nice services and products.
The funding in Google Cloud is a basic a part of the John Lewis Partnership’s transformation story. The corporate’s technique of making sensible in-store and on-line experiences has already been profitable in attracting extra clients this yr. This partnership with Google Cloud will take its retail expertise to the subsequent degree – each in-store, and through its digital platforms, together with JohnLewis.com, Waitrose.com, and its owned cell apps. Furthermore, the settlement will assist the John Lewis Partnership’s ambition to get nearer to its clients by making a pan-Partnership loyalty programme in 2024.
Nish Kankiwala, CEO on the John Lewis Partnership, stated: “Investing in innovative expertise is not only a selection, it’s a necessity for a contemporary retailer like us. Core to our technique is constructing our expertise infrastructure for the long run, drawing on newest improvements to learn our clients.”
Zak Mian, chief transformation and expertise officer on the John Lewis Partnership, added: “On the John Lewis Partnership we’ve all the time been centered at discovering higher methods to do enterprise. Immediately’s announcement marks a big step in reworking our expertise, and ensures that our Companions have the most effective instruments to offer our clients with much more personalised experiences, throughout all our channels.
“Think about a world the place a buyer can use a picture scanning characteristic of their John Lewis App to indicate our Dwelling Design Stylists a room they’re trying to furnish, which tells us all we have to know concerning the intricacies of the area, structure and measurements. Not solely does it save clients a variety of time and problem, however even earlier than the appointment we will take inspiration from their distinctive preferences and provides tailor-made suggestions that may even complement merchandise they have already got. We’re wanting ahead to an period of contemporary innovation.”
Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud, stated: “As an progressive British retailer with a powerful dedication to customer support, the John Lewis Partnership is all the time searching for new methods to reinvent the way it does enterprise.
“By turning to Google Cloud’s main AI and ML instruments, John Lewis will assist remodel the Associate expertise, which in flip will ship a greater and extra seamless expertise for its clients.”
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